Witnesses and testimonies against Genocide perpetrators decay as time passes

As time passes,witnesses and testimonies that are key in the persecution of six persons suspected to have committed or stirred the genocide against Tutsi are disappearing as Office of General Persecutor  affirms.

Rwanda and the International Community strive to bring whoever involved in Genocide against the Tutsi across the world to justice.However some suspects freely live in foreign countries where they enjoy a quasi-total freedom as any other citizen of that country.

Recently, Rwandan government has officially closed the Gacaca Courts that were meant to judge genocide perpetrators using traditional model of grassroots judgement early developed by our  traditional  elders. At the international ,UN has set ICTR(International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda),a court  set to judge genocide criminals who politically fomented the massacres during 1994 Genocide. Currently 90% of the suspects have been arrested but still a given number of listed ones continue to live fearlessly.

United States of America proposed $ 5 million to anyone who will manage to reveal hiding places of each of the six remaining fugitives,among others.Siboyintore Jean Bosco,the Persecutor in charge of genocide perpetrators living  in foreign countries told Umuseke.rw that worries about their  arrest increase.These persons include:Kayishema Fulgence,Munyarugara Phénéas,Sikubwabo Charles,Ndimbati Aloys,Ntaganzwa Ladislas and Ryandikayo Charles.

Félicien Kabuga,Protais Mpiranya and Augustin Bizimana  are under  the international  arrest warranties but until now they ‘re free.  According to Siboyintore,ICTR has consulted witnesses and  gathered enough testimonies for persecution of Kabuga and his fellows once arrested.

“In case the ICTR closes its doors  before the arrest of these fugitives ,there is no worries because the UN Security Council has set a special committee of judges entrusted to pursue legal persecution and judgement process  against  Kabuga and his fellows”J.B Siboyintore told Umuseke.rw.

What we have as serious concerns,in as far as Rwanda is concerned, is the loss of testimonies and death of witnesses who deserve protection and respect.So as time passes,we worry that justice will not be effective as Kabuga, Mpiranya and Bizimana,among others, are not tried to justice  soon.

Siboyintore added that a special committee of judges have the obligations to defining  which legal procedures Kabuga and  his colleagues will be put  to justice  and in which country.The legal status of ICTR allows it send suspects to  any country technically able to judge  them,including Rwanda.It is in this angle that Rwanda  tried seven suspects while France  received  others two  and brought them to justice.In addition to this ,J.B Siboyintore calls upon everyone who might know the hiding places of these fugitives to reveal it to authorities in order to arrest them and provide full justice to survivors.

He told Umuseke.rw that Rwanda keeps  searching  for ways and means to arrest the six suspects mentioned above and that ‘United States of America supports our  efforts in the matter”

Vénuste Kamanzi

UM– USEKE.RW